HTC, the smartphone and tablet maker that launched on Nov. 6 its Vivid 4G, a new smartphone, and which is offered exclusively by AT&T's 4G wireless broadband network, will receive an over-the-air upgrade to Android's 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system in early 2012, it has been reported.

The HTC Vivid 4G Android handset is available exclusively on the AT&T 4G wireless broadband network at a retail price starting at $159 at select AT&T authorized retailers with a two-year activation.

It features a 4.50-inch display, which is an S–LCD screen delivering a 540 x 960-pixel resolution. The touch screen also has built-in light and proximity sensors. The device measures 5.07 x 2.64 x 0.44 inches and is heavier than most smartphones at 6.24 ounces.

The phone contains a dual core 1.2 GHz QUALCOMM APQ8060 processor that is supported by 1.0 GB of RAM memory; 16 GB of onboard storage comes built into the handset, and that can be ramped up to 32 GB via the on board microSD slot. A rear-facing 8.0-megapixel camera offers autofocus and dual LED flash features, and shoots video in 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p HD) at 30 frames per second. The accompanying 1.3-megapixel front-facing chat cam, which also offers video call capability, can record video in 1280 x 720 pixels (720p HD) at 60 frames per second.

The average available talk time on a single battery charge is 4.6 hours, with a standby time of 12.5 days, according to Mobile Bloom.

The phone got some unexpected publicity recently when HTC received a cease-and-desist letter from an adult entertainment company called Vivid Entertainment, which claimed the manufacturer had infringed its trademarks with the release and marketing of the HTC Vivid smartphone, and requested the company change the phone's name. Vivid Entertainment claims that the marketing of the smartphone could cause confusion between the brands.

It was last reported that HTC was "reviewing the complaint," according to DailyTech.